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Katie Pace of The Act Diary and I have decided to take over each other’s blogs today with and write about the movies we can’t wait to see this year! {We were supposed to narrow it down to five, but you’ll have to check out Katie’s blog to see how many movies I was finally able to narrow it down to. (Hint: It ain’t five.)}

Without further ado, here’s Katie’s post!

Going to the theatre is a highlight of my life.

There’s something magical about the lights going dim, the screen lighting up, and
the sound booming through the speakers. Going to the movies is one of my favorite
things to do, and if a few months go by without some fantastic new release I’m
actually a little disappointed.

This year, that’s not really an issue. There are so many amazing movies I’m looking
forward to, that I actually had a little trouble narrowing it down to five- but here
they are- the Fantastic Five.

1) Captain America: Civil War

You never saw that one coming, did you? I’m in such a puddle of feels that I can’t
breathe. I’m pretty sure I’ll come out of the theatre crawling, but I’m totally okay
with that. Not only does this movie have my favorite person ever Sebastian Stan, it
ALSOOOOO has SPIDEY!!!! *dying noises*. This volcano of a movie of gut-wrenching
heart-pummeling feels deserves a day of recovery.

2) Star Trek: Beyond

“Space. The Final Frontier.” As you may know, my favorite actor and imaginary best
friend, Chris Pine, is in this movie, and if that’s not reason enough, here’s some other
reasons. Zachary Quinto. Zoe Saldana. Karl Urban. Anton Yelchin. John Cho. SIMON
PEGG. IDRIS ELBA!! AND J.J. ABRAMS PRODUCED IT!!!!!!!!!!!! *dies*.

Also, check out alien girl’s boss Romulan face tattoos that make me dissolve into a
fangirl popsicle. (A popsicle that’s melted, obvi.) Another fantastic thing about this
movie is that its predecessors are pretty much the most perfect movies ever.

3) Jason Bourne

Weirdly enough, I am very excited for this movie, even though I didn’t really love
The Bourne Identity. I did like The Bourne Ultimatum. After seeing the fabulous
Matt Damon in The Martian, my excitement for Jason Bourne increased greatly. Also,
there’s lots of kick-butt spy action choreography. Stunt work is my weak spot.

4) Pete’s Dragon

This one was unexpected. I’ve never seen the original and frankly have pretty much
zero desire to ever see it. I’d heard they were making a new version of it, but my
reaction was pretty much “meh”. Then we saw the trailer, and BOOM. There’s
Robert Redford (to which my brain says “wait…DIE, YOU HYDRA SCUM!!!”) and
Bryce Dallas Howard (AUNT CLAIRE!!) and- *aggressively rewinds clip to see if that
familiar face was ACTUALLY FAMILIAR BECAUSE* – KARL URBAN. So yes. I’m
excited for this movie.

5) Moana

I had trouble deciding on this one. There are pros and cons to this movie. The cons
are that the directors of this film are the same ones who made The Princess and the
Frog and all the other Disney films that dabble in religion, sometimes a little too
heavily for my preference (movies like The Little Mermaid and Hercules). However,
I know that it doesn’t bother some people, and I’m willing to give them a chance,
especially when I saw the first PRO:

The animation is BEEYOOOTIFULLLL. Also, she lives on a stinkin’ tropical island.
AND look at that SUNSET GLOW. So I’m relatively eager for Moana and excited with reservations.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

These are honorable mentions because I’m not sure what they’ll end up like. There’s
a possibility they’ll be scratched off my ‘to-watch’ list. They haven’t been rated yetsome
haven’t even been made yet- so I don’t know if I’m excited to see them in
theatres or not.

The film industry is a blossoming, thriving beast, full of beauty and danger. (Yay
metaphors, right?) Movies are works of art, and I love to think about all the different
aspects and appreciate the talent behind it. Sometimes we can see just one part of a
film (like the story, for instance) and not even notice things like sound design,
rendering, scoring, computer graphics, or screenplay. That’s why I can watch movies
again and again. There’s always something more.

They’re an art form. They’re a way to relax. They can make me laugh, they can make
me cry, they can make me sob like a baby and curl into a corner and shake back andforth and question the meaning of life because why oh why are Tony and Cap ever atodds with each other because it hurts my feeeeelllliiiiinnnnggggssss. But most
importantly, movies are stories. And I love them.

Hello, everyone! Morgan Huneke is stopping here today on her blog tour for the release of her newest novel, The Crossways. You can see the full schedule here. Below is an exclusive character spotlight on one of the main characters, Adriel.

Character Spotlight: Adriel

Appearance: Tall and wiry, dark hair and brown eyes. Most often scowling.

Age: 14

History: Adriel was born as a slave on a stryte plantation. He has an older brother, an older sister, one younger brother, and two younger sisters. He also had a twin sister who was stillborn. He never really had a great relationship with his brothers, but he always got along with his sisters, particularly the youngest, Rae. By the time he was fourteen, his mother and all his siblings except for Rae had been sold and his dad had died. Adriel is considered quite a rebellious slave. For the most part, he gets in trouble for defending Rae, as she is weak and cannot do all that is required of her, but he does also defy his master in other ways. He is quite bitter towards the strytes over their treatment of him and his family. And he has a lot of doubts. He doesn’t really believe in much at all.

Author’s Notes: I’ve probably said a few too many times that Adriel is my favorite character. There’s a reason for that. In the midst of the difficulties of Time Captives, he was the one that was easy to write. I don’t know why, but it’s easy to write from the perspective of an angry, sullen slave. As someone who has always loved hard luck stories, I loved writing about him. I really couldn’t get enough of Adriel and his family. I could also relate to his stubbornness.

Adriel was also the first main character I’ve written who did not start out as a Christian. It was interesting to write about his struggles to believe in God and accept His free gift of salvation. And it made me see things in a different light. It’s always good to go back to the beginning. You forget what it was like, and it makes it harder to help other people through it. Going back with Adriel helped me go back to the very basics of Christianity, to not get lost in the technicalities of theology, but to see the simplicity and awesome power of God’s free gift of salvation.

About the Book

“M’lady, it has been fairly well confirmed that the Redona was hidden away by the merfolk at the
conclusion of the Great War instead of destroyed as was commanded. My brother has confirmed to me Joseph’s belief that it was concealed at the Crossways.”

Toarna pressed her fingertips together in thought. “It must be recovered and destroyed as was at first intended.”

Emily, Allan, Jill, and Joey have been reunited with their long lost ancestors. But with that reunion comes the true beginning of their quest: free the rightful king of Calhortz so that he may be restored to his throne. The Redona, the only object that can free him from his long imprisonment, is rumored to be concealed in The Crossways, a mountain across the sea which cannot be entered.

A slave since birth, Adriel’s resentment and hatred towards the strytes only grows as his family is continually ripped from him. He longs for the freedom the Time Captives are prophesied to bring, but he doubts their existence, just as he doubts God’s love. Circumstances in Calhortz are so dire. How could they ever improve?

Who can enter The Crossways? Will the king ever be freed? Or will the slaves of Calhortz lose all hope of freedom before it is even offered to them?

The Crossways is the second book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom.

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia. She has enjoyed creating characters and writing stories since early childhood. Her other interests include reading, playing the piano and violin, and politics. She is the author of Across the Stars and The Experiment.

Join in the excitement of Time Captives and enter to win a special prize! The first prize winner will receive a signed copy of The Crossways. The second prize winner will receive an eCopy of The Crossways in the eBook format of his/her choice. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

Posting for the second time in one week – that’s gotta be a first. It’s not me, though, so it doesn’t count. XD Without further ado, here’s Morgan Huneke’s guest post for her Creighton Hill blog tour!

Pinterest can definitely be a huge distraction from writing, as evidenced by my 450+ pin and growing Doctor Who board, but it can also be utilized as a very helpful writing tool. The trick is in knowing how…and not succumbing to the distractions of fandom and funny boards.

I use Pinterest to create storyboards for my works in progress. I wish I had some for my previous books, Across the Stars and The Experiment, but I didn’t start my account until I was about half done writing Time Captives. Thus Time Captives is the first of my books to have a storyboard. What do I pin to that storyboard? Quite a variety of things.

For Time Captives, I principally used Pinterest for character “casting.” A lot of times, I’ll have a very general idea of what a character looks like, but not really think of anything beyond hair and eye color. Pinterest allows me to pick and save pictures of my characters so I know exactly what they look like. Very rarely for Time Captives did I pick an actual actor, or at any rate, someone I know is an actor, but I still love having the visual. I did pick an actress for the elf Estranna and for her brother Draewin. I’m honestly not sure of the name of Estranna, only that she played Lilliandil in the 2010 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. [Edit: Her name is Laura Brent.] Tom Hiddleston would make a perfect Draewin. Having a visual reference for characters helps me to get to know them better, and often helps my physical descriptions.

I also pin setting inspirations. It’s fun searching for mountains or castles or medieval villages to pin as different locations in the world of Calhortea. The pictures of dungeons and villages and fancy castle interiors give my imagination an extra boost and help me to feel more a part of the story. It gives me a more concrete visual to build upon, and creates a more realistic feel.

I don’t have many quotes on my public Time Captives board, but finding quotes that apply to the characters and situations definitely fleshes them out in my mind. I have secret boards for a few characters, ones that play large roles in book two, and those boards have more quotes on them. The captions are a bit spoilery, so they will remain secret. 🙂 My next books, like the nameless outer space dystopian the Cassie story, and my “storyless storyboard story,” have boards with many more relevant quotes. It’s easier to pin a full storyboard when you start from the beginning.

Finally, I pin stuff I have created for the book, like quote graphics and book trailers. I might as well pin through the publishing process.

My Pinterest board is a nice place to go when I need Time Captives inspiration and a fun reward after some hard writing. I really enjoy sitting down, often with my sisters, and scrolling through boards looking for people to cast as my characters, or relevant settings or quotes. It’s also a great way to share stuff with readers. I was hesitant to start Pinterest, as I am with basically every social media, but it’s a fun writing supplement, and I enjoy it very much.

Because the Dear Love blog party is going on at Lianne Taimenlore and, if you’re not over there, you’re missing out!!!! All of the posts thus far have been wonderful and I can’t wait for the rest!! (And I got a lot of really sweet comments on mine, which has totally made my day!)